JUST THE ROCK: Township’s retro rock beat out the Indefinite Article’s funk and Baker’s indie pop. |
Ah, the WBCN Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble, the battle of the bands that every spring stokes the local music scene into a conflagration of puerile mudslinging (“Dick Dreyfus and the Touch suck because the bass player has stupid hair and a justache”), blind favoritism (“I haven’t seen or heard any of the other bands, but Nuremberg Balloon should’ve won because they’re my friends and they totally rock!”), and ill-informed conspiracy theory (“The whole thing’s fixed!”). I should know: I’m in a band, Age Rings, who competed in this year’s Rumble. We made it as far as the semifinals, where we were bounced by Township. We should’ve won the whole thing because none of us has stupid hair or justaches, and we totally rock.
Nevertheless, and even though I find the whole “battle” aspect rather icky (music is about community, not competition, man!), it’s hard to deny the positive impact the Rumble has on the local scene. Nothing’s fixed — seriously, it’s not, except in the case of the obvious bias against Age Rings, of course — and once you block out the immature chatter, what you’re left with are nine nights of deliciously eclectic local shows. Bands and fans from various corners of the local scene get a chance to commingle. Local music becomes a hot topic of conversation in the media, on message boards, and just generally around town. And, perhaps most important, thousands of dollars in cash and useful prizes are funneled back to musicians, most of whom are probably struggling to make their monthly rehearsal-space rent. Even bands with no competitive spirit are motivated to step things up a notch or two — to bring their A game, so to speak — by the promise of free studio time.
So I was psyched last Friday for the final night of this year’s Rumble, the 29th and the first to be held at Harpers Ferry in Allston. The three finalists, whittled down from the initial pool of 24, made for a varied bill: funky white-boy hip-hoppers the Indefinite Article, ’70s-style retro-rockers Township, and jaunty indie-pop purveyors Baker.
The Indefinite Article kicked things off with their dorm-room-friendly blend of hip-hop, reggae, jambandage funk, and rap rock. Issues of style aside, the fivesome played as if they meant it, combining genuine enthusiasm with serious instrumental proficiency. It was hard to hear exactly what frontman Father Abraham was rhyming about, but the rhythm of his flow was catchy, and I hope every bass player and drummer in the room had his eyes on IA’s rhythm section, who gave a clinic on how bass and drums should interact.
Township followed with a typically blistering set of retro riff rock. The four-piece mine familiar terrain — Zeppelin, Floyd, the classics — but with panache and a sense of humor that similar revivalists like Wolfmother lack. Frontman Marc Pinansky and right-hand man Carter Tanton, singing in falsetto harmony or beefy octaves, provided the best one-two vocal punch of the Rumble.
Baker came out with bunches of balloons, egg shakers for the crowd, and the night’s best set of songs — memorable hooks and unexpected chord changes galore. But in the eyes and ears of the judges — yes, completely subjective — it wasn’t enough to best Township, who graciously accepted the coveted Rumble tiara from last year’s winners, the Campaign for Real-Time. Said Pinansky, like a flustered Oscar winner: “I don’t have a speech. I just came to play a rock show.”
